Upgrading from Version 6.1 or V6.2 to Version 7.2 is a significant upgrade but Scale comms have changed significantly. We no longer use Commeserver, Scale comms is now embedded in EazyTouch and all your scales will need to be set up using EazyTouch. There are a few other major issues to be aware as described below. 


Version 7.2 of TransLution requires .net framework 4.8 to be installed. Since a .net upgrade may require a server restart it is worth planning this step in advance of an upgrade


Business Object Events

In Version 6.3 we made a change to the structure of the Business Object Event table, changing the Key Data column from Varchar to XML. This was to support the use of posting the entire XML document as a single tag. 


When using SQL2016 or greater which is the recommended version of SQL for TransLution, the upgrade process will change the data type of the column for you with no problems. However, when using earlier versions of SQL , when upgrading to V7 from any version prior to V6.3 the Key Data column in the Business Object Event table must be cleared of historical data before upgrading. This is done by running the following command:


 UPDATE BUSINESS_OBJECT_EVENT SET KEY_DATA = ''



General Issues


PLEASE READ THE ISSUES BELOW TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY DO NOT APPLY TO YOU


  • EazyScan on Windows scanners is NOT supported on V7 meaning that any site running windows Scanners can upgrade to V6.3 and no further.
  • A new licence file is required for V7 meaning that any upgrades from V6.3 or earlier cannot be done until a new licence has been requested from your TransLution Reseller.
  • If you have more than one Site please contact [email protected] before upgrading.
  • A key change with version 7 is that we have move devices to be managed and maintained centrally. There are some implications to this if you have multiple company databases on the same site. If there is a chance that the same device name has been defined in 2 companies please read the section on managing duplicate devices below. If you are upgrading an implementation with only a live company or only a live and test company this issue does not apply. 



EazyConfig and EazySetup:

Configurator has been replaced with EazyConfig. Configurator uses the WCF service and not the TransLution Server. Prior to upgrading you can uninstall both Configurator and the TransLution Server and simply install EazyConfig. As part of the EazyConfig install you will be promoted for the WCF Server connections. You can use the same settings as for EazyTouch and EazySetup. You can now also modify these settings from within EazyConfig - there is no longer a need to edit any settings XML files.


To uprade EazySetup, simply uninstall the existing EazySetup install and install the latest version.


EazyQuery:

If still running Afrisoft Query Tool it is recommended that you upgrade to TransLution EazyQuery.


Server Software:

Use EazyInstall to uninstall and re-install all required server components. 

This includes the WCF Service as a minimum but also the WCF ERP Service, the Background Processing Service and the Print Service as required.

The TransLution Server and RF Server components are no longer required.


Database:

Run Eazysetup and do a standard database upgrade of both the Common and the Company databases.

REMEMBER: A new licence file is required.


Clients:

EazyTouch - It was apparent that in many cases people were forgetting to install EazyTouch Autoupdate application. If this is not done, EazyTouch clients still need to be manually updated with each release. 

With V7 we install both applications together so that the updater is always installed automatically. However, this requires the use of a new installer. The EazyTouch installer will uninstall the old version of EazyTouch but ut is necesarry to uninstall EazyTouch Autoupdate manually. It is required to do this on each EazyTouch client. What this means is that V7.x effectively does not have an EazyTouch autoupdate option and all EazyTouch clients have to be updated manually.


Android - Android needs to be updated on each device. Go to each device in turn, and use the link to the Android downloads as shown here: Android Downloads and select to download Android and each device will install and run the new version. If the new version is not properly detected, please restart the scanner and then run TransLution again.


Managing Duplicate Devices:

If you have only a live or only a live and test company, the below does not apply. 


If you have multiple companies where users log onto a single device and choose the company to log onto this also does not apply. 


Duplicate device names only apply when you have multiple companies in the same site where you may have devices that are physically different, sharing a device name. Eg: It may be that you are running a company AceHardware with a branch in New York and another branch in New Jersey. If both locations had a scanner called Scanner01, then clearly these are not be the same device so before the upgrade you would need to rename one or both of these devices so that the right devices can be created in the common database. When upgrading to V7 we will assume that the same device name in multiple companies means that we have a single device. If these devices are not the same device then one or both must be renamed before upgrading.


We have developed a tool to assist with this called 'TransLution Device Compare'.  It is recommended that you install and run this utility well before your planned upgrade date. This tool will highlight all device names across all companies on your site that share a name. If the devices are in fact shared you can ignore the warning but if the devices are not shared between companies then you must rename the devices. This utility does NOT rename devices for you. The reason for that is that the device name is physically set up on the device and you need to rename the device not only in the TransLution company database but also on the device. 


The screenshot above shows that the device ADMIN exists on multiple databases. On two of those databases it shares a unique identifier which is a good indication that this is a single device shared across two companies. In this case it does not need to be renamed.

All duplicate device names should be dealt with well before you attempt an upgrade.


Job Table - Scanner Name ID Logging:


The JOB table is where we log the ID of the device executing the TransLution job. For all versions before V7, this ID is logged in the SCANNER_NAME_ID column. In V7, we log the data into the DEVICE_NAME_ID column. The ID we log is the device name ID as defined in the device table in the common database. It is important to know if you are using this ID in any views or queries – this is best done using the TransLution Database Object Viewer.

 

Select to view all tables including core tables and then select the SCANNER_NAME table. The SQL Cross reference pane will show all stored procedures and views where the scanner name table is referenced. By right clicking on any one of them you will be able to see the details. In the example above, the stored procedure uses the ID column to return the scanner name so it will need to be modified. Do this before planning the upgrade – it will tell you how much work, if any, is required to deal with this change.


Fixed Value Mapping - Scanner Name and Scanner Name ID:


When doing fixed value mapping, we support the option to log a scanner name and a scanner name ID. These values are still mapped as before but the Name and ID refer to data in the Device table in the common database. We include a query (see SQL Query to Find Mappings below) to show if these fields are using in any standard mappings in order to allow for the appropriate action to be taken. The query requires two parameters – the database name and the Standard mapping value. The standard value you are interested in is ‘Scanner Name ID’. You can look for other standard values but their use is not specifically relevant to this upgrade. Run this query before you upgrade – it will tell you how much work, if any, is required to deal with these mappings. If Scanner Name ID is mapped, you would need to check the function where it is used to see if there is a report or a view using this data to find the scanner name. This would need to be changed to find the device name on the common table.

A sample of the result returned by the query is shown below


Log Step - Scanner Name:


The log data step by default logs the scanner name to the log data table. This has not changed and the device name is still logged. No changes are required.